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^{Wealth & Poverty Review} Medved on Deserving vs. Undeserving Rich

_{Jay W. Richards

February 9, 2012

Free Enterprise, Politics, Wealth Creation}

The Obama administration and its media allies are doing what they can to fan the flames of class conflict.

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Some recent polls
suggest the campaign is having an effect on public opinion. But Michael
Medved digs a little deeper into the data, and argues that Americans don’t
generally dislike the “rich,” but rather, the undeserving rich:

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The biggest challenge for Mitt Romney isn’t that
America hates the rich; it’s that the public hates the undeserving rich, and
deeply resents privileged punks and politically connected connivers who never
performed constructive service to make their millions.

This is an important distinction, reminiscent
of Arthur Brooks’s distinction between “earned” and
“unearned” success.